totally underwhelmed

[masterwig]

These are tactics that wiil be used for away games against the top 5 or 6 teams...at home and for the mid and bottom half teams away it will be a different kettle of fish


CHILL BLUES

I hope you're right. Liverpool at home in the league last season says differently though. They were there for the taking that day but we played for 0-0. Let's hope Mancini has more faith in his attacking options this time against a Liverpool side who will be much stronger.

 

[City Raider]

I'm sorry but the top teams do play counter attack football away from home in the big games. Fergie stopped playing 4-4-2 away from home years ago and seeing Rooney on the left isn't unusual.

 

[buzzer1]

The way I see it is that we are meant to have a team with top 4 aspirations,and yet we go to Spurs,and in my opinion the team was set up tactically to play for a draw.You can argue that we had new players on the pitch,and they have yet to gel.But to play with just Tevez up front was wrong.

And Mancini style of football seems to be to negative for my liking,And I'm sorry to have to say it but you wouldn't see Chelsea or United go there and play those tactics,they would at least have a go,win or not.Top teams have no fear in the EPL and try to win the game.And if wasn't for Joe Hart we could easily have taking a battering,the shots on goal they had prove we were lucky to get away with a draw.

And I hope we don't continue to play the tactics we played yesterday,I sincerly hope I'm proven wrong.

Needs must and horses for courses mate. I can see us beating teams by 3 or 4 nil and without going steamboats ahead, we are gonna see a good few controlled twatting and complete domination of teams, without the steamboats apprpoach, enjoy.

Just a quick point, did anyone ever see Bobby so animated? that's what we wanna see, and he sounded like one of us fans at the end of a Derby, no voice through having it, well done Bob, thats what we want.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Haven't read the whole thread, but the way I see it, we played "OK" throughout the game.

I didn't see us playing particularly badly in the first half, nor much better in the 2nd.

What happened was Spurs - full of confidence with their staggering record of stuffing City season in season out; even more buoyed up as its the first game of the season; even more buoyed up again because they are playing the new kids on the block; and to cap it all playing at home - came out of the blocks absolutely on fire. We did well to even try to match them for the first 45 minutes.

Of course they couldn't keep it up, no team could. So we came back into the game in the 2nd half.

In my view yesterday was entirely predictable, and we did rather well to get a draw. Had we gone with an attacking line up we would have lost 5-2.

 

[chesterguy]

Whilst I'm happy with the point- I do share some concerns about the "balls" that we don't show in big games.

We won't win anything playing so slowly and negatively. We need mire impetus, more guile, more balls.

Chelsea WW
Liverpool DD
United LL
Arsenal WD

Not bad for big games

 

[howiedeblue]

Agree to an extent, Spurs could have had 6 - can you IMAGINE the headlines then?

yeah COULD HAVE!!!! but didnt!!

I could have won the lottery but DIDNT....can i still spend the winnings?

 

[bluevengence]

Ask any rag,arse,blue or red dipper fan if they would be happy with a point away at tott on the first day of the season......i bet they would all say yes

 

[stumpy_mcfc]

I'm beginning to disagree with Mancini's philosophies both on and off the pitch.

I'm hoping that it's mainly down to lack of preparation due to the world cup.

However, every single person in the stadium would had had Johnson starting yesterday, and it became abundantly clear after 15 minutes that Tevez was refusing to play tge lone striker role and we needed Ade on the pitch.

Now that was either, IMO, awfull tactics from Mancini or poor player discipline. Which. Guess Mancini should have addressed, yet failed to.

I will agree that the one obvious thing missing before the kick-off and everyone would have known that Ade should have started.

 

[gio's side step]

Note to the OP

I'd stay away from throwing any critical questions about anywhere at the moment, because you will be labelled as a rag, a loner, a saddo or not a real blue. Just smoke some of the positive stuff like everyone else. That's what I'm doing for a few weeks. Much easier. I still believe.

Reality. 9 times out of 10, a performance like saturday produces a defeat. Even some will resist that. But that's the brutal truth. On this occasion however it didnt, particularly because of Hart. So we have to bite football's hand off and take the point running. In truth then, its a great point and a great start to the season. There is cause for optimism. But underlying that, is a fear of that performance (which is understandable for all of the points made about players not having played or trained together much) might repeat itself over the next month or two. If so, then this messageforum will be blazing hot.

 

[KingofDraw]

I'm beginning to disagree with Mancini's philosophies both on and off the pitch.

I'm hoping that it's mainly down to lack of preparation due to the world cup.

However, every single person in the stadium would had had Johnson starting yesterday, and it became abundantly clear after 15 minutes that Tevez was refusing to play tge lone striker role and we needed Ade on the pitch.

Now that was either, IMO, awfull tactics from Mancini or poor player discipline. Which. Guess Mancini should have addressed, yet failed to.

I will agree that the one obvious thing missing before the kick-off and everyone would have known that Ade should have started.

Swp had a good pre season, and he tracks back to help alot, and richards needed all the help he could get. Ade isnt that good of a striker to me. hopefully balotelli will have a great start. if balotelli stays up and tevez and silva play off of him with milner Toure and de jong in the midfield i think well be ok.

also with no boateng we basically had no attack from the RB spot. bale didnt need to do any tracking back because richards isnt very good for attacking.